Human rights violations by Jehovah's Witnesses

Psychological abuse

The Jehovah’s Witnesses organization has often been prompted to go before the courts to defend the rights of its members to reunite,
to preach door to door, to refuse certain medical treatments, to refuse to salute the flag, to refuse to sing the national anthem,
to refuse to serve in the military etc. However, behind closed doors this cult is far from respecting fundamental human rights.

Here
are a few of the prohibitions in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which are imposed on their members stripping them of their human rights.
(Note : always use a condom to protect yourself against STIs.) :

- Forbidden to have premarital sex. 1

- Forbidden to participate
in oral sex. 2

- Forbidden to participate in anal sex. 2 and 3

- Forbidden to participate in sexual activity with people of the same
sex (homosexuality).4

- Forbidden to marry someone who is not Jehovah’s Witness. 5

- Forbidden to divorce and to remarry. (Can
divorce and remarry only if the other spouse commits fornication).6

- Forbidden to have an abortion or to use the morning after pill.
7

- Forbidden to masturbate. 8

- Forbidden to become a transgender or transsexual. 9

- Women must be in total submission towards their
husbands. 10

- Forbidden to believe in evolution theory and to promote such ideas.11

- Forbidden to promote other beliefs that
are not taught by the cult and forbidden to contest existing ideas (apostasy). 12

- Forbidden to go to another religion or cult.13

-
Forbidden to oppose the law of the sect, organization or its representatives. 14

- Forbidden
for women to have special privileges in the congregation such as elders or ministerial assistant or other. 10

- Forbidden for women
to teach men the doctrine unless there are exceptional circumstances and in these cases they must wear a hat as a sign of subordination.
10

- Forbidden to participate in martial arts. 27

- Forbidden to drink a toast to somebody. 28

- Tattooing is strongly discouraged.
29

- Piercings are strongly discouraged. 30

- And more.

Many prohibitions are directly linked to disciplinary measures imposed
by what they call an ‘elder’ or a committee of 3 elders forming a judicial committee (a religious court). They use a manual named
“Shepherd the Flock of God - 1 Peter 5:2“. Only elders are permitted to use this manual. It indicates how to punish disobedience.
The following are some examples of their coercive measures:

- Severe and humiliating verbal reprimands to break the individual.

-
Temporary or permanent loss of privileges (they work on a privilege system).

- Inability to obtain privileges.

- Censorship.

- Rejection,
avoidance and shunning of a member once he has been deemed 'marked'.

- Unwanted disassociation.

- Disfellowshipping: no longer able
to have access to other members. Shunning : forbidden to speak or to associate with the disfellowshipped. Except in limited circumstances.
It is psychological harassment. 31

- Parents use corporal punishment to discipline their children.

*These prohibitions and disciplinary
measures are violations of human rights. The prohibition of blood transfusion is a violation of the right to life in the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Clarifications on disfellowshipping, dissociation and inactivity. 31

Until an individual
is baptized Jehovah's Witness, he will suffer virtually no disciplinary action unless he is an unbaptized publisher and commits a
"sin" then he will lose his publishing privileges and this loss will be publicly announced at the kingdom Hall. Children not yet baptized
from Jehovah's Witnesses parents are often punished if they disobey to what the cult demands. There are some who will be beaten for
example if they have not prepared their Watchtower before the meeting or if they are caught committing a "sin"

A baptized
Jehovah’s Witness who stops publishing becomes “irregular” and eventually “inactive” and will lose privileges and responsibilities
as disciplinary actions. The other Witnesses can talk to him and attend him but will avoid doing it because he has become spiritually
weak and could have a bad influence on them.

A Jehovah’s Witness who commits a sin or disobeys, will be met by normally three
elders from his congregation and will be severely reprimanded verbally. If he refuses to repent, he will be disfellowshipped and this
expulsion will be publicly announced at the Kingdom Hall. He will lose all privileges and responsibilities. The other Witnesses will
not be allowed to talk to him or to attend him; otherwise they will also be disfellowshipped. Except:

-If it's a co-worker, they
can talk to him at work about the work only. Not outside of work place.

-If it's a family member living under the same roof, they can
speak to him in connection with the activities of daily living only. But they will make him feel that he is a nobody and denigrate
him. If it is a minor child, upon reaching majority, when his parents have kicked him out or if he leaves by himself, no more contacts.
Except in certain limited circumstances, for example if there is a death in the family. Some Jehovah's Witnesses parents speak in
secret with their child who has been disfellowshipped, but in doing so they disobey the instructions of the cult and could lose privileges
as a disciplinary action. However, these parents will not be disfellowshipped themselves.

If a Jehovah’s Witness “disassociates
himself”, the other Witnesses won’t be allowed to speak to him or attend him.

A baptized Jehovah's Witness who attends another
religion or cult or decides to be part of it, will be met by the elders of his congregation. They will tell him that it is wrong and
if he refuses to repent, they will announce that he has disassociated himself from the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization, which is
not necessarily his will. The punishment is the same as for disfellowshipping. Only the term is changed.

References : Watchtower
publications listed below.

Note : references were updated to match with the english versions that were published earlier than the french
versions until 1986.

9 - An article was written about it by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, but was never published. However,
several Jehovah’s Witnesses in position of authority are aware of it. For example, an individual who has changed sex and wishes to
become a Jehovah’s Witness will necessarily have to return to the sexual identity he or she had at birth, although he or she will
not be asked to undergo surgery again. Regarding the intersex people (hermaphrodites), the Watchtower said that there is usually a
dominant sex and it does not require that they undergo surgery.

10 - Insight on the Scriptures (1988) Vol. II p.1195-1197

11 -
See the book : Life : How did it get here? By evolution or by creation? (1985) Chap. 20 p. 248 par. 6, Watchtower April 1st, 2005
p.5-6, Awake ! June 22nd, 1998 p. 8

18 - In the past , it was forbidden for Jehovah's Witnesses to vote at the elections.
In the past, many witnesses were imprisonned around the world for refusing to vote : Revelation : it's grand climax at hand! (1988)
Chap. 28 p. 197 par. 36: But since 1999, the Watchtower took a softer line. If they are forced to vote, they can : Watchtower November
1st, 1999 p. 28-29